Field
The disclosed concept relates generally to vents and, more particularly, to roof ridge vents for ventilating the roof of a structure such as, for example, a building. The disclosed concept also relates to ventilated roofs employing ridge vents.
Background Information
Vents are commonly employed on the roofs of structures, such as residential buildings, commercial buildings and other structures, in order to exhaust air from beneath the roof (e.g., from an attic space) into the surrounding atmosphere, and to remove moisture.
For example, a variety of passive roof vents have been employed at various locations on building roofs in an attempt to release heat which can undesirably build up and become trapped under the roof. Passive vents provide an air passageway for such hot air to be exhausted from the roof, and thereby help to maintain a relatively comfortable temperature within the building. More specifically, by releasing unwanted hot air, a lower average temperature can be maintained without requiring excessive energy to be expended to cool the air, for example, by air-conditioning. The vents serve to stimulate natural convection of the air by releasing the hot air which has risen to the roof and, in turn, drawing and circulating cooler air, which is more dense and thus resides in relatively low-lying areas, throughout the building. Such vents also serve a safety function, as excessive heat can result in damage to the roof, and could potentially cause a fire. This is particularly important in warm climates where the roof is exposed to excessive and prolonged heat and sunlight. In cooler climates, venting the attic space serves to exhaust undesirable moisture-laden attic air, in order to prevent damage to the internal structure. It will be appreciated, therefore, that roof vents not only function to eradicate unwanted heat and/or moisture from the roof assembly, but in doing so, also extend the life of the roof assembly and, in particular, roof shingles (e.g., without limitation, asphalt shingles).
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of a ridge vent 2, which is employed at the peak or ridgeline 4 of the roof 6 of a building 8, as partially shown in FIG. 1. The ridge vent 2 generally includes a resilient elongated body 10 having first and second opposing sides 12,14 and opposing lateral edges 16,18. As shown in FIG. 1, the first side 12 is structured to overlay an exterior surface (e.g., without limitation, shingles 20) at or about the roof ridgeline 4, and the second side 14 is structured to be covered by a plurality of finishing shingles 22. The ridge vent 2 facilitates the aforementioned passive ventilation by providing passageways 24,26 at the lateral edges 16,18, respectively, as well as passageways 28,30 at the longitudinal ends 32,34, respectively, of the ridge vent 2, through which air can circulate, as desired. In the non-limiting example of FIGS. 1 and 2, the passageways 24,26 at the lateral edges 16,18 of the ridge vent 2 are a plurality of closely spaced slots 24,26, and the passageways 28,30 at the longitudinal ends 32,34 of the ridge vent 2 are formed by a predetermined arrangement of generally V-shaped members 36,38 (best shown in FIG. 2). Upturned shields or baffle members 40,42 extend upwardly at the lateral edges 16,18, respectively, to at least partially shield, and/or create a baffle for, the slots 24,26.
Generally, such ridge vents 2 have been effective for ventilating traditional gable style roofs 6 of the type shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, a gable style roof 6 has a substantially straight ridgeline 4 that runs the entire length of the roof 6 at substantially the same elevation, all the way to the edge of the building 8, or slightly beyond the edge of the building 8. The upper course of shingles 20, near the peak 4 of the roof 6, provides a relatively smooth and flat surface for the ridge vent 2 to mount and conform to. However, a hip roof 44 of the type shown for example in FIG. 3, often presents a stair or stepped surface with which the ridge vent 2 must interface. Specifically, unlike the aforementioned gable roof 6 (FIG. 1), the hip roof 44 has hip ends 46,48,50 which slope backwards and can result in a plurality of ridgelines 52,54,56 being formed at different elevations. Consequently, a sloped ridgeline transition section is required between the ridgelines. For example, sloped ridgeline transition section 58 transitions from ridgeline 54 to ridgeline 56, and sloped ridgeline transition section 60 transitions from ridgeline 52 to ridgeline 56. These sloped areas of the hip roof 44 create the aforementioned stair or stepped surfaces, which are not conducive for traditional roof ridge vent designs. That is, use of conventional ridge vents 2 over such stair or stepped surfaces results in gaps between the base (e.g., first side 12) of the vent 2 and the roof shingles (e.g., shingles 20). In order to resist weather and/or debris from entering through such gaps, extreme care must be used to close them, for example, using roofing sealants.
There is, therefore, room for improvement in roof ridge vents.